


Snarl

by Sterekscissac213



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Eventual Smut, Flower Child Niall, Fluff and Smut, Love, M/M, Pre-Larry, Punk Liam, Violence, niall and harry are best friends, smut later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-28 20:29:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6344047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sterekscissac213/pseuds/Sterekscissac213
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall loved the world around him, from the flowers on the ground to the sun in the sky. Liam hated everything about the world around him, from the violence on the streets to the pollution that poisoned everything around him. But he could never hate the cute boy with the flowers in his hair and the smile permanently etched on his face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. .01

   Niall lay on a blanket over the grass in his backyard with a flower crown atop his head, smiling up at the sun with his eyes closed. Tranquility overtook him causing a sense of peace and a lazy smile crept it's way onto his lips.

   He had always loved laying under the rays of warmth, it relaxed him and he loved how it engulfed him even when it was freezing. Here in Wolverhampton it always seemed to rain so when the sun actually came out Niall relished in it. The first day of his senior year was tomorrow and he was excited about going. At least he tried his hardest to convince himself that he was.

   He could never hate going to school, but he sometimes did dislike it. He enjoyed certain parts of it, really he did. He loved his best friend Hazza, he loved the nice teachers that always helped him. But he didn't like the bullies that always took his flower crowns and stomped on them and then proceeded to call him mean names like faggot or flowerbitch after kicking and punching him. He didn't know where they came up with the name "flowerbitch" but he knew that it made him feel helpless and his eyes would mist over with tears. When the bullies saw his tears they would laugh and slap each other's chests and high five one another, pointing at him.Niall would run away, tears rolling down his face and the sound of cruel laughter behind him.

   Niall was determined to make this year a good one. He felt it in his bones, this year would be great. He had to believe it, or he wouldn't get through the year let alone the day. Full of determination, Niall picked up his bag and adjusted the crown on his head, making sure he looked reasonably decent for school.

   Schuller High School. It was the high school Niall had been attending for 2 years after he moved from Ireland. He transferred in his tenth year and ever since he walked through the heavy metal doors with a flower crown on his head, he'd been mocked endlessly. The only person that showed him kindness was Harry Styles and ever since then they've become the best of friends.

   Harry was currently dating a boy named Louis. Niall liked Louis He seemed nice enough and always made Hazza laugh so in his book, he was a pretty good guy. Louis was in Uni and was studying to become a detective and according to Hazza he was pretty good at it. In other words, Louis always found Harry's lost possesions.

   Niall couldn't help but be envious of their relationship. They were always cuddling and kissing, of course they fought once in a while but they always made up. Niall wishes he had someone to love him like that, someone to cherish him like they cherished each other. He was truly happy for them but he also didn't want to keep third wheeling whenever all three of them hung out together. He tried to not let much bother him, he didn't see a point. What was anger going to do? What was it going to solve? Niall always thought that if you kept a positive outlook and a cheery smile on your face, everything would work out eventually.

   Niall waited in the little alcove him and Harry always met at, anticipating his best friends arrival.

   "Niall!" Harry exclaimed upon seeing the blonde boy. It had been a couple weeks since they had last seen each other; Harry wanted to spend some time with his boyfriend. Niall just wanted him to be happy so he encouraged the couple to spend more time together, just the two of them.

   "Hey Hazza, did you and Louis bond a little over the last two weeks? Its quite a bit of time you know, to have some fun." Niall said this with a wink. Harry blushed at the implication and smacked Niall on the back of the head causing the blonde boy to chuckle and rub his head.

   "Get your mind out of the gutter, smartass. We had a good time and that's all you need to know." Niall smiles brightly and started heading towards the school entrance, Harry beside him. They chatted aimlessly about what they did in the last couple weeks since they saw each other and Niall enjoyed having Harry to talk to; he had missed the taller boys company and was glad to have him back ( not that he'd ever tell Hazza).

   The bell rung and Harry had to hurry off to a different part of the campus and Niall was left all by his lonesome. As he was walking towards his first period art class he noticed four tall hulking boys that had tormented his days for two years. Logan, David, Asher, and Danny were the epitome of primates in Niall's opinion. They knew nothing about personal hygiene, were almost as hairy as apes, and were just as dumb if not dumber than apes. Niall had taken to calling them The Gorilla Group.

   Once they saw the small blonde boy they immediately advanced on him and Niall wondered who the honor of first punch of the year would go to. The halls were cleared out by now and it was only the five of them.

   It seemed the honor would go to Asher this year if the advancing black haired primate meant anything. Niall could barely suck in a breath before a fist connected with his stomach, causing him to bend over slightly in pain. Air tried to make its way into his lungs but it seemed as if the primate had done something right for once and struck his solar plexus. Two hands grabbed at the bag on his shoulder and ripped it away from him. A ripping sound could be heard and the clattering of multiple items and writing utensils on the tiled floors echoed throughout the hallway.

   Raucous laughter sounded from the four testosterone filled boys and as Niall bent down to pick up his scattered possesions he could hear multiple high fives in the distance as the primates decided they had enough with their prey. Stuffing everything into his bag and sighing resignedly he looked for his last notebook. Searching the floor his eyes found a pair of boot clad feet directly in front of his face.

"Looking for this?"


	2. .02

Niall looked up at the muscular boy in front of him, noticing the several tattoos that went up and down his arms and from what he could tell extended onto his torso. His eyes caught on the sheer size of the boys biceps. They were huge and looked like they were able to break Niall in half. His eyes found the other boy's and he couldn't help but gaze into them for a couple seconds. They were a rich chocolatey brown that threatened to suck him in if he didn't stop staring. 

Realizing what he was doing, he quickly averted his eyes and felt a heat creep up his cheeks, causing the taller boy to smirk slightly.

"Uh y-yes thank you" Niall grabbed the notebook quickly and avoiding the attractive boys eyes, fled the scene as quickly as he could. He could still feel the heat on his cheeks and neck. He couldn't believe he had embarrassed himself like that. It was mortifying.

He made his way into class, already late and ignored the teachers disapproving glare as he sat down in the back. He tried to pay attention to Mr. Randson but his mind kept focusing on the tattoed boy from before. He even shook his head to see if that would somehow knock the thoughts out of his head. But nevertheless he always came back and always made him smile.

He was just so captivating. From the mesmerizing brown eyes to the boots he wore on his feet. He didn't dress like a normal punk kid. He didn't wear a lot of black and he didn't have some kind of graphic t-shirt on either. He was just wearing a black button up with jeans. It was pretty simple but it showed off all his tattoos, something Niall appreciated greatly and couldn't help but think about constantly.

There was something so mesmerising about how he looked at Niall and how he spoke and his articulation. Everything about the boy mesmerized him. 

He couldn't wait to get to lunch so he could explain his dilemma to Hazza. All throughout the first half of the day he fidgeted and couldn't seem to sit still. When the bell finally run for his lunch period he shot up out of his seat like a race horse and sped off toward the cafeteria. When he finally got to the doors with the word Cafeteria above them he quickly walked inside and looked around for Hazza, spotting him at one of the tables in the corner, he speed walked his way over to him, avoiding the mass of hungry teenagers in his path.

"Hazza, we need to talk because I'm freaking out and I don't know what to do and my mind is all messed u-" 

"Whoa Nialler calm down. Tell me what happened before your cute little blonde head explodes." Harry cuts off Niall with a grin, amused by Niall's freak out.

"Stop being a smartass Hazza, this is serious!"

"Alright Nialler, spill." Harry's face became more serious and he wore an expression of concern on his face.

"Well there was this boy and he had all these tattoos and his eyes-Hazza his eyes, they were just so beautiful and he was helping me pick up my stuff after those apes of teenagers knocked me dow-"

"Wait they're messing with you already? Niall you need to do something about them." Harry looked furious, like he was going to rip the hearts out of the bullies and eat them.

"Harry it already happened and it's only going to get worse if I snitch and besides they are completely irrelevant right now, I'm just trying to rant about the cute boy this morning." Niall said this with a pout and a pleading look on his face.

"Fine," Harry conceded with a sigh and motioned for Niall to continue.

"Well anyways after that, he said something to me but I don't really remember the words but I remember his voice and it was like the epitome of beautiful. It was low and had such a nice sound and I could listen to it for hours!" With a long drawn out groan, Niall smacked his forehead against the table, relishing in the cold surface and severely hoping it would cool down the burning in his face. A low chuckle left Harry's lips as he watched his best friend obsess over the mysterious boy. 

Niall picked his head up to see Harry looking at him with a shit eating grin stretched across his features and quickly raised his hand to smack him in the shoulder, effectively causing Harry to clutch his arm and wince in pain.

Niall spent the rest of his lunch period explaining his confusing feelings about the tattoed boy to Harry. Harry always threw in some snarky comment about Niall's undying love for this boy, then Niall would proceed to hit Harry repeatedly until he retracted his statement. Harry never did so without a grin or laugh.  
× × ×  
Liam's POV

Liam watched as the cute blonde haired boy with the flower crown in his hair ran away from him with a feeling of disappointment lingering in his gut. He had really wanted to talk to the boy and at least get his name. But now he's scared him off and he doesn't think he'll ever see him again.

As he starts to walk away from the accident site, he decides that school is not going to happen for him today. Who gives a fuck if it's the first day? All Liam wanted to do was punch something and smoke a cigarette because for some godamn reason he couldn't get a certain blue eyed blonde haired boy out of his mind.

With clouded thoughts he walked out to his car, got inside, and pulled out of the parking lot. It was times like these that he was actually happy to have an abandoned building all to himself. It made him look super sketchy but who else was going to see if but him? No one ever came around the lot and it was pretty far away from everyone. It was where he went when he just needed to hang out and have some time to himself. It was like a home away from home.

If his foster parents knew he hung around an abandoned building most of the time, they would surely kick him out and he'd be put with a new family. It was nothing new to him since the accident, but he preferred to stay in one place.

Once he got to the building he pulled around back and parked his car. He brought his bag inside with him and went through the backdoor into the building. The inside was sparsely decorated but it wasn't barren. There was a beaten up leather sofa against the far wall apposite Liam, where the actual front door was. There was a shitty television in front of the sofa that had a huge antenna with it. In the far corner was one of Liam's favorite things and probably the most expensive thing in the decrepit building, a punching bag. Liam had to pay over 200 dollars for it  
because it had come with boxing gloves and all the essentials a fighter would need. 

He used that thing nearly every day. He always was just so angry at everything. He would see someone litter on the sidewalk and that would irritate him but then he would see something like bullying and it would set him off. He hated getting into confrontations a lot because he loathed having to justify himself and have everyone not believe him just because he had tattoos. So he waited until he got here and then beat the shit out of the bag, he was glad he spent 200 dollars on it because it had yet to break on him. 

Liam walked over to the bag and wrapped his knuckles with wrap he bought with the punching bag. He pictured the faces of the boys that were hurting the cute little boy from this morning. Punch after lunch flew at the bag and it filled him with a sense of catharsis. The sound of skin meeting plastic filled the room for an hour before heavy panting replaced it. Liam unwrapped his knuckles and stretched his fingers out, savoring in the soreness in his knuckles. 

When he had finally calmed down and could breathe normally, Liam reached into the couch cushion and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a black zippo. Putting a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it, he inhaled and with a sigh, and blew out the smoke that had invaded his lungs. He knew smoking was bad for him, but the lightheaded clear feeling he got from it, was too much to pass up. He knows he'll quit one day, but that's just not today. Besides, how else is he going to stop thinking about the cute flower crown boy?


	3. .03

Niall

All yesterday Niall had seen no sign of the handsome, mysterious, tattoo covered boy from that morning. He had tried not to feel dissapointed and even went as far as to make a new flower crown so that he could hopefully cheer himself up. 

He was anxious for today because he had no idea what could happen. He could run into those dumb bullies again who insisted on hurting him. Maybe he would run into tattoo boy again. 

This morning he had decided to go to school with a baseball tee with black sleeves and a pair of black skinny jeans. A white flower crown lay on top of his head and Niall was extremely pleased with how it contrasted with his shirt. Smiling to himself in his bathroom mirror, he grabbed his bag and headed downstairs to the front door. He didn't typically eat breakfast seeing as no one really was awake and he was too lazy to do it himself. 

Walking down the path to his high school was always pleasant for Niall. It allowed him to take in the nature and just think to himself for a while. It was quite relaxing really, well until someone from school drove by and shouted obscenities at him. But like always he kept smiling the best he could.

When he finally got to the front of his school, he quickly met up with Hazza in their little alcove, where they proceeded to chat until the warning bell rang for them to get to class. The two separated once again and Niall tried his best to keep away from bumping into people seeing as they tended to get quite nasty sometimes. 

He saw his locker a few feet away and before he actually reached it, a hard shoulder collided with his, causing him to stumble but he quickly gained his footing. He closed his eyes tightly and waited for a punch or a kick but nothing came. When he opened his eyes, there was the tattoed boy from yesterday, standing there with his flower crown in his outstretched hand. 

"When that dick bumped into you this fell off and I thought you might want it back," the handsome boy said this questioningly, as if he wasn't sure he was supposed to be talking to Niall. Niall on his part just stared dumbly at the boy, flicking his eyes between his crown and the boys face, not quite grasping the situation. Finally realizing how awkward he was being, he blushed such a dark red he was sure he looked like a tomato.

"O-oh um thanks so much, I-I really appreciate it." Niall stuttered out, grabbing the flower crown from the boys outstretched hand. When their fingers brushed, there were no sparks like described in romance books but he felt a warmth inside him when he saw the boys crooked smile that was aimed at him. He quickly looked down at his shoes, feeling the blush spread down his neck.

"It's no problem, my name is Liam." 

"N-Niall. It's nice to meet you Liam," Niall looked up just to lock gazes with him. If at all possible, his face became even more heated and he noticed that Liam's smile had gotten just a little wider.

They both looked at each other for a few seconds in silence and for Niall those few seconds felt like an eternity. He mapped out Liam's features with his eyes and now that he was up close, he couldn't help but appreciate the boys face. He had a sharp jaw and pink plump lips. His eyes were Niall's favorite thing on the whole planet, excluding maybe white roses. His eyes were a warm chocolatey brown that looked as if they had seen a lot but we're still warm with kindness towards him. Niall was abruptly broken out of his trance by Liam's voice cutting through the silence between them.

"I really like your flower crowns, they look cute on you," Liam said this with a slight smirk on his face and he raised his hand to fiddle with the crown Niall had put back atop his head. Niall had decided this morning to leave his hair down and Liam took advantage of that, and his hand on its way back to his side brushed his bangs away from his forehead but didn't linger for long. Or at least not as long as Niall had wanted.

Niall opened his mouth then closed it, his cooling cheeks heating up once again.

"What?" Liam asked in a genuinely curious tone.

"N-nothing, I just um like your tattooes, they look really good on you," Niall just about died from mortification. He liked his tattoos? He needed to pull it together.

"Why thank you, my prince," Liam said this in an affectionate tone and Niall just about choked on his own saliva. 

"Prince?"

"Yeah, your crowns make you a prince, plus you look a bit like royalty if I do say so myself." A smirk was growing on Liam's face as he watched Niall shuffle his feet and look back down at the floor. Niall fidgeted with his fingers, contemplating on his next step. 

An idea popped into his head and after a second of contemplation, he reached for the crown on top of his head and held it out to Liam.

"Keep it. Consider it a gift for being my knight against the horrors of this school, even if we've only known each other for a little over twenty four hours."

Liam, instead of taking the crown, got down on one knee and bowed his head.

"Crown me." Liam said this with his head bowed still and Niall thought he looked a little ridiculous. He was knelt there on the dirty hallway floor with his bulky, tattooed body, waiting for Niall to place a flower crown on his head. He must not have cared what anyone thought of him, and Niall liked and respected him even more for that.

With a smile on his face, Niall placed the crown on top of Liam's head and when he raised his head to look up at Niall, he felt like swooning.

Liam looked like a tattooed flower. Tough and resilient but beautiful all the same.  
× × ×  
Liam 

Liam stood there, looking down at Niall, looking at the joy and wonderment on his face from seeing Liam wearing his crown. If he could get Niall to smile like that everyday, he would wear the crown everyday. Liam didn't quite understand where this immediate fondness for Niall came from, but he did know that for once he wasn't angry about it. 

He had only really ever seen Niall twice but something about the blonde boy calmed him. He didn't feel the itch of irritation in his brain, he didn't feel like he was going to snap every two seconds, he felt normal. Something about this newfound normalcy made him want to be around Niall forever. He didn't want to go back to the constant anger, or the fury that overcame him at the simplest of times.

Liam looked down at Niall fondly and with a glance at his phone and seeing the time, saluted Niall.

"Considering its about 10 minutes past the beginning of first period, I'd suggest we get to class." After Liam spoke, Niall checked his phone and with a panicked look on his face and a rushed 'goodbye', ran away from Liam and in the direction of his first period. 

With a small sigh and a shake of his head, Liam walked to his first period, in the opposite direction of Niall's. He was sad to see him go but he knew he couldn't have stayed with him all day, that would be too good to be true and illogical. 

All day, Liam thought about his prince with the flower crowns, and Niall thought about his knight with inked armor.  



	4. .04

Niall 

The week had finally ended and Niall was more than happy to be spending his weekend at the park near his house, picking flowers and weaving them into intricate flower crowns and just reflecting on his life. His thoughts unfortunately to a turn for the worst. 

He didn't stick around his house much anymore, not since his mother had become clinically depressed. She slowly shut me out more and more until she just stopped responding all together. He wishes that she would at least be there as a mother. He wished she was strong enough to fight the darkness inside her head, to let go of her demons. If only she took after me and but on an act, fake a smile and pretend to be okay. He understood though, or at least he tried hard to. If he had lost his husband after their first child was born and then lost his eldest son to a drunk driver, he would not want to get out of bed either.

He had been eight that night, when the red and blue lights flashed through his curtains followed by two sharp knocks echoed off his weathered door. His mom had gone to the door and told Niall to stay put. When she had come back, the red and blue lights were disappearing and tears were flowing down her cheeks. Him being eight immediatly started questioning her, and for every question that came out of his mouth, a sob escaped hers. 

"It's G-Greg sweetheart, he's been in an a-accident."

"Well when is he coming home?"

"N-n-never sweetheart. He's never coming back." Immediately after the words were spoked, she collapsed on the ground, heavy sobs shaking her body and she kept on weeping. She wept for hours, she wept far into the night. Niall remembered laying awake all night listening to the sobs of his mother and feeling utterly hopeless and confused. He missed his brother too, he missed the way he had always smiled and ruffled his hair whenever they saw each other. He missed the way his brother would always make him laugh, even in the toughest of times. 

So from that night onwards, he swore to smile for his mother who would never smile again from the pain, for his brother who would never get the chance to smile again, and for himself so that he never lost sight of what's important in life, happiness.

So he sat there under an oak tree with piles of flowers around him, interweaving the flowers and unwinding his thoughts. His fingers deftly tucked and weaved the stems and vines from several years of practice and with every flower added to the mix he felt a deeper sense of relaxation and calm. He always loved to spend his time under the massive oak. He loves to climb it and sit amongst it's branches while he created his crowns. The branches always seemed to cradle him and when the sun filtered through the spaces in the leaves, Niall thought he was in heaven.

He felt his happiest when he could feel the sun on his skin and the bark of the trees or the smoothness of the grass on his back. He could spend an eternity in natures strong but gentle embrace. 

His quiet reverie was broken by the sound of obnoxious jeering and raucous laughter that seemed to come from behind him. He turned his head to look at the disturbance behind him and spotted Logan, David, Asher, and Danny laughing at something he couldn't see. They hadn't seemed to notice him yet and Niall wanted to keep it that way. He quickly gathered all his things and placed them in the bag he brought with him, then tried to quickly walk away without drawing attention to himself. He was unsuccessful.

"Hey, look it's litle flowerbitch!" He heard what he thought was Danny say. The words caused the others to go silent and for Niall to pick up his pace from a fast-walk to a fast-jog. Suddenly laughter erupted from them and the sound of slaps hitting chests emitted from the group. Niall rolled his eyes at how absolutely primal the group of idiotic apes were. 

The sound of laughter kept getting closer and no matter how fast his feet carried him, Niall knew it was inevitable that they would catch him. Before Niall could even think of calling for help a hand yanked at the bag on his bag and he went flying backwards onto the ground, banging his head against it at the same time. He closed his eyes and whimpered from the pain that echoed across the crown of his head.

"Aw is the little faggot hurt? Suck it up and deal with it. We all have to deal with your gay flowerbitch ass." It was Logan who spoke this time and with his words came a hard kick to Niall's ribs. The impact forced him to roll onto his side and tuck his knees into his chest, hoping to minimalise the damage to his body. 

Kick after kick landed on his body, creating bruises and what Niall was sure was internal bleeding. The pain seemed to stretch across his whole body and small whimpers escaped his mouth which only made the kicks come harder and faster. 

"Get the fuck off of him!" A voice rang out against the sounds of boots colliding with his body and Niall thought it sounded a lot like Liam's. The locks didn't stop though, so Niall didn't have time to think on it much with the amount of damage being rained down on his body. 

Suddenly the kicks halted and he raised his head to see Liam punching the four boys like it was nothing. He moved swiftly and deftly, ducking and weaving in between them, throwing punches into any open space. He was too fast for the apes to catch up. They threw punch after punch but it never landed. Their faces were red from aggravation and overwxertion and sweat poured over their foreheads, while Liam looked fierce, controlled, and absolutely pissed. Niall had never seen such a vast amount of anger in one person. Liams muscles were bulging and his lips were pulled back into a snarl, and he looked lethal. 

Niall wanted to be scared of him, it would have been anyone's natural reaction to such danger but all he felt was relief. And slight attraction if he was going to be honest. Seeing Liam so angry and fired up stirred something in Niall, something primal. 

Liam knocked down his assailants like dominoes. The "fight" seemed to last about thirty seconds before each of them was on the floor, clutching some part of their body in pain. Niall felt contempt for them, not normally an angry person but liking the way they felt how he felt. He didn't like feeling this way. This kind of bubbling anger that made him want to hit something, it made him sick. He breathed deeply in and out, trying to calm himself and ignore the pain that was still radiating through his body. 

Liam spotted him and quickly rushed over, kneeling by his head and gently checking him for injuries. He didn't really understand where this intense worry came from. They had only talked once and sure they had connected but he didn't know that he affected Liam so much. He was touched by the amount of care Liam showed him and how gentle he was. It was a large contrast to how he was before. The anger had all but dissapeared and was now replaced with concern and there was no longer a snarl on his lips but rather a frown of worry. Niall smiled slightly at Liam and it caused him to wince a little at the sharp pain that tugged at his lips.

"Niall are you alright? Where are you hurt? Don't worry I can take you to the hosp-" Liam rushed out in a flurry of words that caused Niall's head to spin a little but he quickly gained his bearings back and held up a hand towards Liam.

"No hospitals. I can't afford it and I'm sure it's not that bad. I'll be all better in a couple of days, always am," Niall said this with a smile on his lips and Liam looked at him, unconvinced. 

"Fine, just let me take you back to my place. I have a first aid kit there." Liam compromised and he couldn't help but feel a little intrigued. So with a small nod he acquiesced to Liam's deal and slowly tried to stand himself up. After multiple groans of pain and quite a bit of tripping, Niall stood up on his own two feet. He clutched Liams arm in a deathtrap and when he took his first step, his knee buckled under his weight and he would have fallen on his face if it wasn't for Liam's arm around his shoulder. 

"Niall I'm going to have to carry you."

"No no, I'm fine don't, I can walk," As Niall said this, he went to take another step and although steadier still felt like he could tip over at any moment. Liam, noticing this scooped Niall up and carried him over to his car. 

Despite Niall's protests, Liam didn't let him down until they reached his car and he gently deposited Niall in the passenger seat and walked over to his side of the vehicle and climbed in. 

They drove for what felt like half an hour and when they stopped all Niall could see around was an abandoned building. 

"Liam you're not gonna kill me or anything right?"

"No silly, this is where I come for peace of mind. No one bothers me out here, but you're welcome to anytime." The smile on Liam's face was enough for Niall and he threw all his suspicions away. He felt like he was safe with Liam, like he could trust him. 

They headed inside through what Niall assumed was the backdoor and when they walked in Niall noticed the boxing gear in the corner and the old sofa and television on the back wall. It was a little shifty but Niall trusted Liam not to hurt him. He hoped he wouldn't let him down.

Liam walked over to the corner with the boxing gear and from a little box, pulled out first aid supplies. He then sat Niall on the old sofa and set everything out. Niall lay down on the sofa and tried to get as comfortable as he could. Suddenly exhaustion overtook him and he fell asleep in the middle of an abandoned building with a boy he had only talked with once.


	5. .05

Niall 

The first thing Niall felt when he awoke was a throbbing pain. It spread through his body like a wave cresting onto the shore. It was a dull ache deep in his muscles that made him never want to get up ever again. 

The second thing Niall felt or rather heard was the sound of something padded being hit rapidly. The sound punctured his ears and was starting to cause a headache which only added to the growing pain in his body. 

A low groan escaped the boy as the pain threatened to overtake him. The rapid hitting sound stopped and the sound of footsteps shuffling in his direction caused Niall to finally open his eyes. He saw a brief glimpse of Liam in boxing gloves before he shut his eyes tightly, the bright light feeling as if it was stabbing his eyeballs. 

"Niall, are you alright? Do you need anything?" Niall just groaned in response and shifted uncomfortably on the sofa.

"You need to relax Niall, squirming isn't going to make it hurt any less." Liam said this with an edge to his voice and Niall instantly stopped fretting and laid still. He didn't want to upset Liam and most of all he wanted all the hurt to go away. His eyes remained shut tight, trying his hardest to block the sunlight from breaching into his eyes and causing a larger migraine. 

Niall felt Liam tap his shoulder and he squinted one eye open, seeing Liam with a cup of water and two pills in his hand. Rationalizing that Liam would never drug him, Niall quickly took the pills and downed them with a nouthful of water. The feeling of the cool water sliding down his scratchy throat was too good and he quickly downed the water, gulping heavily after every swallow. 

"Thanks." Niall mustered the word of gratitude as sincerely as possible before handing the plastic cup back to Liam who deposited it on the floor next to him. They both looked at each other for a few seconds before Niall broke the silence.

"What time is it?"

"About 4:50 P.M." 

"I should probably get home."

"Probably."

After Liam spoke the last word, nothing happened. They continued to state at each other in silence, not particularly awkward but not at all comfortable. Niall didn't know what to say, what were they supposed to talk about? How Liam heroically saved him from the beating of his life? He would prefer if that was never brought up again. Niall had always been the type to leave the problems where they occured, the past. So no, he wasn't going to bring up getting brutalized in the park. So he sat there, waiting for something to break them out of their stoic positions. 

"I'll uh-drive you home." Liam coughed and stood, offering Niall a hand up. With a grimace he took the offered hand and pulled himself out of the horizontal position he was previously in. Pain wracked up his body and he groaned low in pain.  

Niall went to take a step towards the door and his knees buckled in on each other and he would've fell on the cement floor had he not clutched onto Liam's shirt on the way down.  Liam clenched onto Niall's forearms to steady him and put an arm around his back to hoist him back onto his feet. With an arm still wrapped around Niall,  he started to lead them to the back door and out to his car. 

Niall felt that the heroic deed was all too familiar. Liam was always saving him when he fell down and always seemed to be right there when he needed him. He also found it odd that they've only known each other for barely a week and there was already some kind of intimate connection between them. If Niall was honest, it scared him just a little bit at how close they had grown in the short time they had known each other. 

One inside the car, Liam started the engine and they pulled out of the lot and onto the road. The car was filled with silence except for the low h7m of the engine for a few minutes before Liam asked Niall a question.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Green."

"Why?"

"It reminds me of the grass, the trees, just everything in nature."

"Mine is white," Liam decided to disturb the silence once again and his statement caused Niall to raise a brow questioningly at him.

"Why?"

"It reminds me of simplicity" Liam as he said this flushed a little and Niall smiled at the adorable blush that coated the boys cheeks. Niall found it endearing that even though Liam came off as a somewhat dark individual that he still valued purity. Maybe Liam wasn't a dark person, maybe everyone just misunderstood him.

They continued to talk about their likes and dislikes for the whole car ride to Niall's house and to be honest Niall really didn't want it to end. It was all just so normal. It was so easy to talk to Liam and he really didn't want to go back to his silent house and the overwhelming isolation that accompanied it. He wished he could just stay with Liam, and just not be so alone for once. 

￼

 

Once they had reached Niall's house, Liam stopped the car and looked over at Niall who had one hand on the door handle and a look on his face like he would rather be anywhere else. 

"You alright?" Liam questioned him with a concerned look. Niall turned to look at him and he tried to keep his voice as steady as he could.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Once he had said this he grabbed the  door handle and lifted himself out of Liam's car. 

"Niall wait!" Liam called from inside the car. Niall quickly turned around and looked into the car through the window Liam had rolled down. 

"What?" Niall gave Liam a questioning glance and noticed how Liam's cheeks had heated up before quirking an eyebrow at him.

"We don't have each other's numbers. I just thought that-y'know that, we could exchange them or something," Liam said this almost like he was nervous for Niall's answer, which he found silly considering Liam was a big muscular man who could take down King Kong if he tried. But nevertheless he smiled at him and dug his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Liam after unlocking it. Liam after a few seconds of typing handed the phone back to Niall with a smile on his face. 

"I texted myself so I  have your number," Liam informed him and Niall nodded at him before turning back around and started to head up his driveway.

"Oh and Niall?" Niall turned back around to look at Liam once more and with a smirk on his face, Liam shocked Niall speechless.

"You look really fucking cute." And with a wink Liam drove away and Niall was left there with his mouth wide open, staring at the empty spot where Liam's car had once been. Once what had happened had finally sunk r in, Niall grinned widely and shook his head at Liam's antics. Niall started dancing up his driveway with how giddy he felt about Liam's comment. He just couldn't contain himself.

￼

When he finally got inside, he went to his bedroom and set his things down on his bed. With a dreamy sigh he too flopped down on his bed and constantly smiled at the memory of Liam winking at him. He just couldn't believe someone like Liam would ever be interested in someone like him. They were too very diffrent people. Liam likes to take his anger out on a punching bag and Niall liked to pour out his stress and worry into creating flower crowns. Liam was violence, while Niall was peace. And for some inexplicable reason, they worked quite well together.   
×                                 ×                                ×   
Liam was panicking on the drive home. He was worried that he went too far with Niall and that he would never want to speak to him again after what he had said to him. What if Niall actively avoided Liam just because he had one dumb impulse. Liam wasn't lying of course, Niall had looked really cute. But then again he always looked cute, or at least in Liam's opinion he did. 

The flower crowns he always wore just amplified his overall cuteness by two hundred percent and that was just a fact. Anyone who disagreed could meet the end of his fist. 

Liam tried not to worry too much about how Niall would react and he just decided that it would work out however it worked out. There was no point in getting too bent out of shape about it. Hell, Niall could have even liked what he had said and if that was the case, Liam would be overjoyed. 

It's not evryday he gets to rescue a cute blonde obsessed with flower crowns, but Liam hoped there would be several more.


	6. .06

Niall and Liam continued to text each other over the weekend and when the school week started back up, they started to hang out more and they started eating lunch together. Harry was always invited but he always politely declined the offer and said that if he got lonely he could text Louis. So Niall chose not to worry about him too much and just focused on his time with Liam.

Liam always managed to make two things happen to Niall. One was making him blush. Liam was always spouting compliment after compliment and Niall didn't know what to say so his body said it for him in the form of blushing. His blush would always give raise to a smile on Liam's face and Niall thought that his embarrassment was worth it if he got to see Liams smiling face.

The second thing Liam always succeeded at making Niall do was laugh. Although Liam comes off as a dark and angry person, to Niall he was always really funny and sweet. He had an endless repertoire of knock knock jokes that were so dumb that they always made him laugh.

Another thing they always did together now was go to Liam's secret warehouse where they would just hang out and be alone together. Nothing too serious happened when they were there but it was a different atmosphere than at school. It was more peaceful and relaxed, and Niall couldn't help but fall in love with it.

It was a Friday and they were sitting on the couch. Niall was on one end with his feet lain across the length of the couch and Liam was on the opposite side in an identical position. They weren't really talking and were instead looking at the television where a TV show called The Originals was playing. Niall was fascinated with the show. It was filled with vampires, werewolves, witches, and combinations of each. He fell in love with Klaus Mikaelson and his whole vicious misunderstood leader attitude. 

￼

He felt for Klaus and hoped that one day he would find someone who understood him and wouldn't judge him for what he did in the past. 

Looking over at Liam he found him completely engrossed in the show and Niall smiled at the intense, focused look on his face. When all the vampires teamed up to try to kill Klaus, Liam scoffed at the television and Niall heard him say under his breath, "as if, he's bloody Klaus Mikaelson." 

Niall chuckled at Liam's comment and when Liam heard the sound of laughter he looked over at Niall and smiled slightly at the amused look on Niall's face. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Niall blushed and turned back to the television. 

Together, they finished the episode and when it finally ended, Liam turned it off. 

"Hey Ni?" Liam turned towards him with a nervous look on his face. Niall's head raised from where he was looking at his phone. 

￼

"Yeah?" Niall continued to look at him and waited for the question to come.

"I was just wondering if you would like to...never mind forget it. Its stupid." He looked down at his shoes and Niall frowned at this.

"No really, don't be afraid to ask me," he spoke comfortingly, touching Liam's shoulder. Liam looked back at him before seeming to regain back his confidence. He looked right into Niall's eyes and his eyes widened in response. 

"Niall, I was wondering if you would perhaps like to go out on a date with me." Liam said this as less of a question and more of a statement causing Niall to flush at his confidence. 

"U-um s-s-sure." Niall stuttered before finally producing an answer. Liam looked shocked that Niall would even consider his request.

"Really?"

"I'm pretty sure?" Suddenly Liam broke out into a wide grin and Niall smiled shyly at him. He was now wondering where Liam was going to take him. 

"Alright, I'm gonna drive you home and I'll pick you up at say around seven?" Liam now looked really excited and Niall loved the look, he thought it made him look like an excited puppy.

"Yeah thats fine, how should I dress?" Niall didn't want to dress like a bum and end up having to go to a fancy restaurant.

"Just dress like your usual adorable self," Liam's smile morphed into a smirk and Niall felt his fading blush flare back to life. He couldn't help but look down at his lap in embarrassment, still not used to Liam's compliments. 

"A-alright," Niall replied, still staring at his lap. He felt a finger under his chin and his head was pulled up until he was staring into Liam's eyes. 

"There is no need to be shy, love. You are going to have to get used to me complimenting you, because it's not going to stop anytime soon," he said this with a firm tone and Niall found himself nodding along to his statement. The eye contact was intimate and intense and Niall became helplessly lost in Liam's chocolate colored eyes. They drew him in and he thought that if Liam continued to look at him like that, Niall would do whatever he asked.

When they broke from their staring session, Liam led Niall to his car and he drove the boy home. It was relatively silent during the drive as they both basked in their excitement. When they arrived at Niall's house, Niall moved to get out of the car and before he exited he spoke. 

"See you at seven."

"You most definitely will," and with that, Niall got out of the car and Liam drove off. Seeing that it was nearing five thirty, Niall rushed inside and rang Hazza.

"What's up Nialler?" Harry spoke from the other end as he rushed upstairs after checking that his mom was still alright, or as alright as she could get. 

"Hey Hazza, so I have a date tonight and I don't know what to wear," he spoke in a rush as he flicked through the multiple clothing items in his closet. He however was not prepared for the excited screech from the other end that came from Harry. He dropped his phone in fright and hurried to pick it back up. When he raised it back to his ear it was to the mad ramblings and questions from Harry. 

"-iall why didn't you tell me! Who is it with? Do I know them? I'm so excited! My baby Nialler is going on a date! LOUIS! NIALL IS GOING ON A DATE! ISNT IT SO EXCITING!? Niall, I'll be there in-" Niall decided to cut off Harry mid-sentence because all the shouting was starting to give him a headache.

"No Hazza its fine don't worry about it, you've seen my closet enough times to know what would look good on me," Niall firmly stated to Harry as he wasn't quite sure if he could handle Hazza in the flesh at the moment. 

"Alright fine, wear your black and white striped button down with black skinny jeans," Harry sighed from the other phone and Niall nearly sighed in relief.

"Thanks so much Hazza!"

"Yeah yeah just remember to tell me all about it...wait you haven't even told me who you're going with!" Niall braced himself for Harry's onslaught of questions when he answered him.

"I'm going on a date with Liam Payne," he grimaced because as soon as the words had left his lips, Harry had started to scream once again.

"NIALL! YOU ARE GOING ON A DATE WITH LIAM PAYNE!? THE LIAM PAYNE!? HOW COULD YOU WAIT UNTIL NOW TO TE-" with a sigh, Niall threw his phone on his bed and just let Harry keep on yelling. Picking the clothes out of his closet, he quickly dressed himself and looked at his appearance in the mirror attached to his door.

￼

Now that he was properly clothed, he didn't know what to do with his remaining time. It was about five forty five and he still had over an hour to wait. 

He grabbed a box from under his bed which contained several flowers and the different materials needed to make a crown, he then gathered a few white roses and started to create a white rose crown. He busied himself with his project and had finally finished it when he heard his doorbell ring. 

Jumping up off the floor, he smoothed out his clothes, grabbed his keys, picked up the newly finished crown, and rushed to the front door. Opening it, he saw Liam's smiling face and he grinned back at him. 

"Well don't you look cute," Liam spoke with an affectionate tone and Niall blushed like he always did. 

"And you look exceptionally handsome," he retorted. Liam was wearing a black button up with a white shirt under it and black jeans as well.

￼

"Why thank you, are you ready to go?" Liam bowed then stuck out his hand to Niall. Niall suddenly grew nervous at what he was about to do.

"Y-yeah, I uh...I have something for you," Niall blushed profusely as he pulled out the white rose flower crown from behind his back and held it out to Liam. Liam took it from him with a soft smile on his face. With the smile still in place he placed the crown on his head.

"I know you said you liked the color white and I thought it would be nice if I made you a flower crown since I love making them and I like you and I thought maybe you would like it and I really hope you because it would suck if-" Liam placed a finger to Niall's lips which effectively quitened him. They both stated at each other for a few seconds before Liam spoke softly.

"I love it Ni." With a grin painted on his face, Niall followed Liam to his car and they started to drive down the road. They drove for a few minutes but it felt like hours to Niall. He had no clue where they were going and he wasn't worried, he was just really curious. They finally stopped and before he could get out of the car, Liam had come over to his side and helped him out. Niall didn't get the chance to look around before two hands closed over his eyes, encasing his vision in darkness. 

"No peeking, it's a surprise," there was a teasing tone to Liam's voice and Niall's stomach filled with butterflies from pure excitement. They walked for about a minute before Liam stopped. Suddenly his hands were gone and before Niall lay a beautiful picnic. They were under a large tree and there were a couple candles set about. Niall smiled widely at all the thought that was put into their first date. 

"I love it Li," he turned to Liam who had an anxious look on his face but it completely melted away as he saw Niall's smile. 

"I'm so happy you do, it took me nearly two hours to set up. But it was worth it to see that adorable smile of yours," Niall was practically beaming up at Liam at his statement and a blush coated his cheeks at the compliment. They both sat down on the blanket that was laid out and Liam started to pull out various foods and plates. 

"I had to go to the Supermarket to get a lot of this but the pasta I made myself so I hope you like it," Liam confessed with a bashful smile on his face. 

"I'm sure I will." With that they both started eating what was laid out before them. Niall did in fact love the pasta if the moan he let out wasn't answer enough. Liam laughed at Niall's antics and thanked him for the compliment. 

Niall continued to eat the food along side Liam. In between every other bite they would ask the other simple question like 'what's your favorite animal' or 'what's your favorite hobby?' At one point Liam brought up the fact that Donald Trump was winning the presidential race in America and they both laughed at America's misfortune. 

Liam attempted to feed Niall chocolate covered strawberries which got messy very quickly but they both laughed it off. When they finished their picnic they lay down side by side next to each other, looking up at the stars above them. There was a peaceful and romantic atmosphere that surrounded them and they both just took it all in. 

Niall was looking up at the sky when he felt a judge against his pinky. Not looking away from the stars above him, he nudged Liam's hand back. Liam grew bolder and took Niall's hand in his, encasing the smaller hand in his larger one. They both turned to look at each other and their faces were only a couple inches apart. 

"Thank you Li." Niall spoke softly not wanting to interrupt their moment.

"For what, love?" Liam said back just as softly, his low voice causing Niall to shiver slightly.

"For giving me the date of a lifetime."

× × ×  
When they got back to Niall's house, Liam insisted on walking him up to the door and Niall was all too happy to oblige him. 

Before he went in his front door, he scurried back over to Liam. He pressed his lips to his scruffy cheek before softly whispering a 'thank you' to him one last time. He then rushed back inside his house, not noticing the look of adoration on the older boys face.


End file.
